Jones denies NZ First defection claims

Labour MP Shane Jones has denied he is defecting to New
Zealand First.

Political pundit Matthew Hooton floated the scenario in a
column today in the National Business Review, saying the
maverick MP was becoming ever more indiscreet and he sees his
recent behaviour as a pretext to either leave Labour or be
expelled.

Hooton claimed Labour's rainbow division, unions and women's
council all loathe Jones and he despises the Greens.

And he wrote that Jones sees himself and Winston Peters as
"two Maori boys from the North" who could hold the balance of
power between National and a Labour-Green coalition.

Hooton said the plan would be for Peters, who will be 72 at
the 2017 election, to hand over the leadership of the party
to Jones, who would be 59.

On TVNZ's Breakfast show this morning Mr Jones quashed the
claims and said he "absolutely" would be in the Labour Party
at the next election.

"It'll be a long day in hell before I ever take my political
advice from Matthew," he told the programme.

"His whole agenda is to create divisiveness and mischief on
our side of politics."

Jones, Cosgrove, Goff et al. are the strength of the party
that endear them to middle NZ. Jones has the art of the
soundbite mastered and can talk straight better than Key.
Middle NZ don't like Curran's over the top vitriol,
Cunliffe's "yeah nah", Grant Robertson's blandness... You get
the picture. I don't think Jones will leave the party because
they will realise he is necessary.